PRIDE & PESTILENCE by Carol Hedges

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Book 11 of the Victorian Detectives murder mystery series

Eleventh book in the series, and I have not given any of them less than five stars!  Pride and Pestilence sits up there with the rest, a hugely enjoyable tale of social climbing scoundrels, unscrupulous journalists, class wars and weary detectives aiming to sort the urgent from the time-wasting, the villains from the victims.

Detective Leo Stride has now retired, but finds himself all at sea; researching old police records for the purpose of writing his memoirs is a welcome escape from bumbling around helplessly in the social and domestic world inhabited by his wife, and also provides an irresistible opportunity to sidle into in some of Cully and Greig's new cases.  Is he still needed?  Of course he is!

The discovery of a plague pit within a building site sparks off rumours of a resurgence of the pestilence of 200 years earlier, and the way in which the tabloid press use this to instil fear into the public (and sell more papers) is most entertaining, and indeed echoes events of a more recent time.

It's great.  Loved it.  Read the whole series, starting now!

INTRIGUE & INFAMY by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

 
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I would have bought it anyway because I adore this series!

In a Nutshell:  Mid-Victorian murder mystery, set in London.  Book 7 of a series of stand-alones.

Loved it, loved it.  When I got to 80% I found myself slowing down because I didn't want to read it too quickly.  In this 7th book of the series, racism rears its ugly head, showing that it is far from being just a 20th and 21st century problem.  Stride and Cully must deal with a series of arson attacks on businesses, and the brutal murder of an old Italian man.

Elsewhere, socialite Juliana Silverton is thoroughly enjoying the attention received since her engagement to hedonistic rich boy Henry Haddon, her delight marred only by a secret from the past ... and the appearance of Henry's younger half-brother's new tutor.

This book is as expertly structured as the rest of the series, and includes similarly colourful characters and the ever-present chasm between rich and poor, so much a theme in all the books - and in certain areas of life nothing has changed; young aristocrats with powerful connections are able to get away with the most heinous of crimes, just as they always have been and are now.  

Although illustrating society's problems in the most deft way, Ms Hedges does not fall into the cliché of making all the privileged characters the 'bad guys'; I was pleased to see a happy outcome for one, in particular.  I guessed the perpetrators of the crimes quite early on, but this didn't matter a jot; the joy of reading these books is the writing itself, the vivid pictures of 1860s London, and the slow unfolding of sub-plots.

I can't help but think of what star rating I will give a book while I am reading it, and this was a solid 5* all the way through, but what earned it my extra 'gold' star was the end twist that I never saw coming.  It was beautifully executed, and made me smile as I realised how other aspects were explained by it.  

If you haven't read any of these books, I recommend you start now - and I hope this is not the end of the series....

FEAR & PHANTOMS by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges #RBRT

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Genre: Victorian Murder Mystery

This is the sixth book in Carol Hedges' Victorian Detectives series, featuring the inimitable Leo Stride and Jack Cully.  As ever, it is a complete stand alone; there is the odd reference to events that occurred in previous books, but none of these would make the book any less enjoyable to a reader new to the series.

The story opens in London's freezing early months of 1865, with a series of sightings of a ghostly Madonna in the Underground.  This, however, is but a humorous diversion from the main story, which involves a dastardly conman who defrauds banks to the extent of their ruin, and murders those who impede his success.

As ever, the star of the show is mid-Victorian era London itself, with many delightful, larger-than-life characters to illustrate its many faces.  You will meet the enchanting Pip and Muggly - starving street children who press their noses up against bakery shop windows - the rich in their gambling dens, hard-working clerks Helen and her twin brother Lambert Trigg, the lovely Lucy Landseer - aspiring novelist and writer of controversial articles - and the Triggs' landlords, Mr and Mrs Mutesius, so beautifully painted that you can almost smell the fustiness of their downstairs quarters, and many more.

One quip I have to mention ~ Jack Cully's disapproval of the name of a new cosmetic.  'I'm not a religious man, but all the same, I don't approve of using Bible names like that.  It's wrong.  Virgin soap, Virgin cream ~ whatever next?  Virgin trains?' 

 
No detail is spared in illustrating the gap between rich and poor, the plight of those who are just scraping together enough to keep body and soul together in grim lodgings, and the careless attitude of the unprincipled rich.  Ms Hedges' love of London and the period shines through, as always, her impeccable research and easy wit making this novel a joy to read; I read it in bed, as I always do with this series; curled up under the duvet I could almost believe that outside my window was Victorian London.  I loved every word. 

*****

WONDERS & WICKEDNESS by Carol Hedges @caroljhedges

5 GOLD stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read all the others in the series and was waiting for this to come out.  Author originally discovered via chatting on Twitter.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.  The fifth book in Carol Hedges' Victorian murder mystery series, featuring crime fighters Stride and Cully, I read and savoured every word.

The plot centres around a man found murdered in the display window of a new department store, and the possible existence of eighteen year old Sybella Wynward, daughter of Lord Hugh and Lady Meriel, who is supposedly dead, following a train accident, but appears to have come to life ~ or has she?

The plot is cleverly and intricately worked out but, as always for me with these books, it comes second to the characterisation, and the star of the whole book, which is London itself.  The parts of the book I enjoyed the most (and I enjoyed every line) were the pictures Ms Hedges paints of our not-so-glorious capital in the 1860s.  As usual with these books, some parts I read twice, because I enjoyed them so much; they made me want to be there and walk those streets myself, even the dark, murky alleys.

Wonders and Wickedness is a riot of technicolour characters, from the bad (Lord Hugh and Montague Foxx), to the daft and deluded (Thorogood and Strictly), to the good (the Cullys), the tragic (Lady Meriel) and the entertaining (Constantia Mortram).  One of my favourites was Felix Lightowler, bookseller and would-be Elizabethan alchemist, who studied the works of John Dee and those of his ilk; I loved the way Ms Hedges wrote his thoughts in the Elizabethan spelling.  The books is filled with similar delightful touches.

Loved it.  Buy it. 🔍

RACK & RUIN by Carol Hedges

5 out of 5 stars

Victorian Murder Mystery

On Amazon UK  HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

I've read the other three of Carol Hedges' colourful, amusing and really rather brilliant Victorian murder mystery series, and this was every bit as good.  They're complete stand alones, by the way, no need to read them in order.

Rack & Ruin follows the stories of several wonderful characters: lovely, outwardly superficial, privileged Daisy Lawton, a girl looking forward to her first 'season'; Ms Hedges very cleverly avoided the trap of making her merely empty-headed, but gave her a heart of gold, too, especially when it came to her friend, poor Letitia, who is bound to a life of drudgery by her horrible father.  Then we have the would-be anarchists, Persiflage and Waxwing, Scottish detective Lachlan Greig, and various other upper middle class ne'er-do-wells, street rogues and those eager to make money by foul means, mostly the evil 'baby minders' around whom the story centres.

This book is not just a clever story with hilarious characterisation and descriptions so good you want to read them twice.  It's an insight into how difficult life really was for women in those days, only 150 years ago, and a view into Victorian London as clear as any film or TV drama series.  When I got to 84% I thought 'oh, no, I've only got a little bit left', and tried to make it last as long as possible.

I believe this might be the last in the series but I do hope not; as long as Carol Hedges keeps writing these books I'll keep reading them as soon as they're available, and you should, too!

Death & Dominion is reviewed HERE, with links to reviews of Honour & Obey and Diamonds & Dust.  All include Amazon buy links.

BACK HOME by Tom Williams

5 out of 5 stars

Crime in Victorian London

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

I loved this book.  Although the third part of a trilogy, it is a complete stand-alone (I haven't read the other parts), with a two page preface that gives exactly the right information about what has happened before; this is so well written that I couldn't wait to get cracking on the main story.

Back Home is an excellent piece of intricately researched historical fiction, set in the mid 19th century, when affluent, middle class John Williamson returns home from thirty years in Borneo and India to find England a place that has gone through much change.  Circumstances take him to London, where he becomes involved with the murky, criminal side of life in order to rescue a friend from danger—and because he is being blackmailed.

I enjoyed every word of this novel.  It's so cleverly written, with low-key humour in parts, the research used subtly and inobtrusively.  Williamson's new life centres around an underground industry; the detail about this is fascinating, as are the eye-opening accounts of life in early Victorian slums.  That aside, I loved reading about his impressions of this new London, his observations about the sociological changes and patterns, and the people he meets.  Even the mundane domestic detail held my attention a hundred per cent.

I shall be reading the previous book, Cawnpore, very soon (I've just bought it), and highly recommend this novel to all lovers of intelligent historical fiction.  Really impressed!

DEATH & DOMINION by Carol Hedges

5 GOLD Stars

Victorian Murder Mystery

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

I was looking forward to this book being published, and I loved it so much I want to give it six stars; I shall have to make do with five big shiny gold ones instead!

First, the basic plot.  Dashing bounder Mark Hawksley is busy enticing the gullible moneyed of London into investing into his diamond mine.  A pornography loving, wife betraying solicitor (the thin, grey haired Frederick Undershaft, marvellous name!) narrowly escapes being poisoned by some arsenic laden cakes.  The sharp-witted, sexy and ambitious Belinda Kite takes up a position as ladies' companion to the dreary Grizelda Bulstrode, sister of 'bluff, no-nonsense northerner' Josiah.

The plot is expertly worked, with many threads and red herrings, though in some ways it actually comes second to the descriptive passages and crystal clear characterisation.

I love Carol Hedges' portrayal of atmosphere, from the chill of a Victorian London winter: "Wind batters the city, rattling the windows and inn-signs, whipping up the Thames into a white-capped rage".... "A foggy morning in London...the river an oozing stinking miasma of low-tide mud.  Grimy pavements.  No shade lighter than slate grey.  Hoofbeats hollow in the fog" ... 

....and her gift for conveying exactly what a character is like in just a sentence or two: "..a red mouth, determined chin and hair the colour of falling Autumn" (Belinda Kite, my favourite character!).  Or "The young lady reminds Belinda of a watercolour painting done by someone who had not much colour but a lot of water, giving off the impression of not only being colourless, but rather damp."  That was Grizelda Bulstrode, who, when eating breakfast "conveys tiny squares of buttered toast into her mouth with the cautious apprehension of one posting letters."   Or the street urchins: "Average age in years: about eleven.  Average age in cynicism and malevolent evil: about one hundred and thirty-five".

At the forefront of all crime solving is the Victorian version of Reagan and Carter of the Sweeney: Detectives Stride and Cully:  "...whereas some people could say things in a cutting way, Stride could listen in a cutting way.  Stride could make something sound stupid just by hearing it".  Okay, no more quotes (apart from Stride's observation about many of the reports on his desk: "Most of this stuff isn't for reading, it's for having been written.")  I highlighted so many terrific lines and passages; perhaps the best I can do is just to advise you to buy and read this immediately! 

This is the third in the series, but they're all complete stand alones.  There are references to events in the previous books but it's not necessary to read them first.  This is my favourite of the three.

I read some passages several times to enjoy them all over again, there's not one single boring bit.  It's so well researched, too; I wonder if Ms Hedges actually time-travelled to discover those dark, dangerous alleyways herself!  Best way to read it?  Sitting up in bed with lots of pillows, in a warm room with coffee, tea and possibly cakes, it's a delightfully 'cosy' book.  

To sum up: a work of art :) 

DIAMONDS & DUST by Carol Hedges reviewed HERE

HONOUR & OBEY by Carol Hedges reviewed HERE

HONOUR AND OBEY by Carol Hedges

5 GOLD STARS

Victorian murder mystery, humour

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

I loved Diamonds and Dust, so I was very much looking forward to reading Honour and Obey - and it's even better. I liked the story much more.  They are both stand alone novels.

This novel is extremely clever and amusing and fabulously well researched. Carol Hedges' Victorian London is very much one of pantomime baddies and goodies; the ghastly Lobelia Clout and the horrible Crevices, the mysterious 'Lonely Widower' and Reverend Bittersplit, compared with put-upon Hyacinth, dutiful Emily, and our heroes, detectives Stride and Cully. But then there are also the clever street sharp survivors, like Tonkin the 'dolly shop' assistant, and the maid in the boarding house of disgusting cuisine, only ever known as the Foundling. Other wonderful pictures are painted of the ladies of the night, and (one of my favourites) the police surgeon.

Ms Hedges does something I find very entertaining. She shows how lives brush together briefly, only to go their separate ways almost immediately, never knowing the effect the characters might or have had on each others' past and future. Loved it, loved it. Unusual, perfectly put together, and I read several passages more than once because they were so good. No skip reading with this book!

DIAMONDS AND DUST by Carol Hedges reviewed HERE

DIAMONDS AND DUST by Carol Hedges

5 out of 5 stars

Victorian Murder Mystery, Humour

Originally posted on Amazon UK HERE on 29 June 2014
On Amazon.com HERE

Diamonds and Dust is a perfectly presented book - I am the world's worst skip reader but I think I read every word of this, because every one was worth reading. Some passages I read more than once, particularly those describing London in 1860, in which the book is set. It's SO well researched, and this shines through; the atmosphere of the time is portrayed with real feeling; some parts would be heartbreaking if the overall humour of the book wasn't light and tongue-in-cheek.

I'm not much of a one for murder mysteries, generally, but Ms Hedges is such a fabulous writer (I've just discovered!) that I think I'd have been enthralled even if she'd written a sci-fi thriller. The plot is intricately woven and releases just the right amount of information at the right time(s), but what I liked most about it was that it's so clever, and funny. My favourite passages were those about the ghastly social climbing that occurred in the Victorian middle classes, even the snobbery amongst the servants.

One thing I love in a book is when the secondary characters are as thoughtfully illustrated as the principal ones; such is the case here, even down to the brief portrait of a simple Welsh police constable in his Watch Box on a cold frosty night. I can't recommend this book too highly, and will be the first person clicking 'buy now' when the sequel, Honour and Obey, is published - I hear the contract has recently been signed!


Honour and Obey by Carol Hedges reviewed HERE